Hezbollah-backed list loses south Lebanon seat to opposition-candidate

Hezbollah-backed list loses south Lebanon seat to opposition-candidate
May 16, 2022, 10:23 am

Hezbollah leader/Facebook page

An opposition candidate and two Hezbollah officials said, citing preliminary results, an electoral list backed by the Iran-backed Hezbollah lost a seat in its south Lebanon stronghold to a candidate backed by opposition groups in parliamentary polls on Sunday (May 15).

Two Hezbollah officials said Elias Jradi, an eye doctor running on the opposition-backed “Together Towards Change” list, won an Orthodox Christian seat previously held by Assaad Hardan of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, a close Hezbollah ally who has been an MP since 1992, Alarabiya English reported, citing Reuters.

Jradi told Reuters his list had secured enough votes to win one seat, an opposition breakthrough in an area dominated by the Iran-backed group and its allies, but would not confirm it would go to him before results were finalised.

A boy waves a flag Lebanon's Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah during a rally to attend a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, broadcast on a giant screen, in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, on May 9, 2022, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 15. (AFP)

The Hezbollah officials said, Shia Muslim Hezbollah and its allies are expected to retain control of the remaining 10 seats in the district.

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The election for the 128-member parliament is the first since Lebanon collapsed into economic crisis in 2019. Results are expected to emerge through the night.

It should be noted that Hezbollah and its allies won a majority in 2018.

Source: alarabiyaenglish

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